ROGERS -- Trey Smith started at quarterback for Springdale Har-Ber, and he also caught three passes in the first half for the Wildcats, but his biggest contribution Friday night may have been with his foot.
The sophomore booted a punt 59 yards to the Rogers 1 midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats then forced a three-and-out, and the swing in field position and the turn in momentum that accompanied it led to two touchdowns in a four-minute span before halftime as the Wildcats defeated the Mounties 42-7 in the 7A-West Conference opener at Whitey Smith Stadium.
"The first quarter Rogers really kept us pinned in, but we finally were able to flip the field," Har-Ber Coach Chris Wood said. "We got the two quick scores to go up 14-0 at halftime, and that was huge for us."
The Wildcats' first touchdown drive covered just 30 yards after a short Rogers punt and ended when Smith raced in from 2 yards out for a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Caleb Daniels then hit Kaleb Pianalto for a 46-yard reception to the Mounties 2, which set up another touchdown run by Smith with 3:21 left in the first half.
"The punt flipped the field and then they get a short field off the punt," Rogers Coach Shawn Flannigan said. "Har-Ber is too good a team to give a short field. That was big."
Rogers (1-3, 0-1) closed the gap to 14-7 early in the third period, but Har-Ber (1-3, 1-0) answered with a quick touchdown and it then scored 21 points the final 8:16 of the game.
"The wheels kind of came off in the second half," Flannigan said.
Har-Berheld the Mounties' triple option offense to 149 yards rushing, including just 18 in the first half. Rogers averaged 3.4 yards a carry, and 90 yards of the rushing total came on runs of 63 and 27 yards by quarterback Cole Evans.
"The defense set the tone," Wood said. "I'm real proud of those kids."
Har-Ber quarterback Caleb Daniels completed 6 of 7 passes for 139 yards. Three of Daniels' completions covered 120 yards
Har-Ber running back Luke Hannon had 12 carries for 149 yard, which included a 60-yard touchdown run off a fake punt in the fourth quarter that increased the Wildcats' lead to 35-7.
Sports on 09/27/2014